Casey Ryan eBook

“That there settles it final,” he snorted,
when the town came into view in the flat below.
“They’ve pushed Casey off’n the grade
for the first time and the last time. What pushin’
and crowdin’ and squawkin’ is done from
now on, it’ll be Casey Ryan doin’ it!
Faint! I’ll learn ’em something to
faint about. If it’s Fords goin’ to
run horses off’n the trail, you watch how Casey
Ryan’ll drive the livin’ tar outa one.
Dog-gone ’em, there ain’t no Ford livin’
that can drive Casey off’n the road. I’ll
drive ’em till their tongues hang out.
I’ll make ’em bawl like a calf, and I’ll
pound ’em on the back and make ’em fan
it faster.”

So talking to himself and his team he rode into town
and up to one of those ubiquitous Ford agencies that
write their curly-tailed blue lettering across the
continent from the high nose of Maine to the shoulder
of Cape Flattery.

“Gimme one of them dog-goned blankety bing-bing
Ford auty-mo-biles,” he commanded the
garage owner who came to meet Casey amiably in his
shirt sleeves. “Here’s four horses
I’ll trade yuh, with what’s left of the
harness. And up at the third turn you’ll
find a good wheel off’n the stage.”
He slid down from the sweaty back of his nigh leader
and stood slightly bow-legged and very determined
before the garage owner, Bill Masters.

“Wel-l—­there ain’t much sale
for horses, Casey. I ain’t got any place
to keep ’em, nor any feed. I’ll sell
yuh a Ford on time, and—­”

Casey glanced over his shoulder to make sure the horses
were standing quiet, dropped the reins and advanced
upon Bill.

“You trade,” he stated flatly.

Bill backed a little. “Oh, all right, if
that’s the way yuh feel. What yuh askin’
for the four just as they stand?”

“Me? A Ford auty-mo-bile. I
told yuh that, Bill. And I want you to put on
the biggest horn that’s made; one that can be
heard from here to Pinnacle and back when I turn ’er
loose. And run the damn thing out here right
away and show me how it works, and how often you gotta
wind it and when. Lucky I didn’t bring
no passengers down—­I was runnin’ empty.
But I gotta take back a load of Bohunks to the Bluebird
this afternoon, and my stage, she’s a total
wreck. I’ll sign papers to-night if you
got any to sign.”

CHAPTER II

Thus was the trade effected with much speed and few
preliminaries, because Bill knew Casey Ryan very intimately
and had seen him in action when his temper was up.
Bill adjusted an extra horn which he happened to have
in stock. One of those terrific things that go
far toward making the life of a pedestrian a nerve-racking
succession of startles. Casey tried it out on
himself before he would accept it. He walked several
doors down the street with the understanding that
Bill would honk at him when he was some little distance
away. Bill waited until Casey’s attention
was drawn to a lady with thick ankles who was crossing
the street in a hurry and a stiff breeze. Bill
came down on the metal plunger of the horn with all
his might, and Casey jumped perceptibly and came back
grinning.